In Unknown Hands
by Hannah554
Summary: In the middle of a war, Janeway and Chakotay are seperated and their relationship is tested. JC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

In Unknown Hands

Chapter 1

Kathryn loved this man that much she knew for certain and she indulged a lot from him. She would let him get away with things that would have made her snap at anyone else. He however was always willing to go further than the others, even the Doctor only put up a token fight. They would always get him to talk to her, he wasn't so afraid of the death glare anymore, Kathryn was sure he had built up an immunity to it.

That was exactly how she had found herself sitting in sickbay having her annual physical, almost on time. When she hadn't turned up on time the Doctor had sent him to find her. He had done as he was asked and after what could have turned into a very heated debate with neither side backing down she had relented. He had come down to sickbay with her since his physical was right after hers.

"You're in perfect health" The doctor told her.

"I could have told you that"

"Your turn commander, I'll be back in moment" the Doctor said as he turned to his accomplice and smiled before going into his office.

"Alright Doctor" Chakotay said as he watched the Doctor go.

Kathryn jumped down from her position next to Chakotay on the biobed and moved to stand in front of him. She knew he hated annual physicals almost as much as she did.

"He's got to do it sooner or later, you might as well get it over with now" she said mimicking his words from earlier.

"Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it" he answered her as he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her passionately and she found herself responding despite where they were. They were both so caught up in the kiss that neither of them noticed the Doctor walk in, he was about to say something but saw them and stopped himself before turning and walking back into his office.

When they finally pulled apart Kathryn rested her forehead on Chakotay's as they both caught there breaths.

"I'll see you on the bridge" he said and she turned to walk away but only got two steps before she turned back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and hold your hand" she said smiling.

"Get out of here" he said laughing.

Chakotay watched her leave before sighing, he had been surprised when he had managed to get her to come down here as easily as he did. He'd half expected yelling and throwing things as well as the death glare the entire crew feared. He was no exception to that, despite the fact that being in a relationship with her had forced him to put on a good front when she used it, the truth was it scared him as much as anyone else.

"Ready Commander?" the Doctor asked as he walked back into sickbay.

Chakotay sighed and resigned himself to his fate "Let's just get this over with"

"I'm surprised you managed to get the come here as quickly as you did. I was expecting to have to wait at least a few hours"

"Yeah, well next time you can chase her down. Despite what she may think that glare of hers has the same effect on me as it does everyone else"

"Well maybe next time we won't have to chase her down" the Doctor said and Chakotay gave him an incredulous look "Wishful thinking Commander"

Kathryn sat on the bridge next to Chakotay, the senior staff had all been declared healthy by the Doctor. She wouldn't have to worry about annual physicals for another year now. Tom was sitting at his station still complaining about losing his pool game last night in Sandrine's. He should have learnt by now that no one beats the Captain, pool games or otherwise.

"I still demand a rematch"

"Tom don't you think you've lost enough replicator rations this week" Kathryn teased.

"Last night was just a warm up, I was planning my new strategy to beat you"

"That only works if you're better than the Captain or at least almost equal" Chakotay said smiling "Right now you can do all the strategising you want but it's not going to help you"

"I've got to go with the Commander on this one Tom" came Harry's voice from the Ops console behind them "You don't stand a chance"

"You guys really know how to destroy a guys self confidence don't you?"

"Mr Paris I do not believe it is possible to destroy your self confidence, you do seem to have an abundance" Tuvok said from his position at Tactical.

"Tuvok was that a joke?"

"Not at all Mr Paris, merely an observation"

Kathryn couldn't help but smile at the exchange between her officers. Bridge banter had become a regular part of working on the bridge, especially when all the senior bridge officers were present. Even Tuvok couldn't help but get involved, it always made their duty shifts that much more entertaining. Unfortunately for Tom though, he often found himself on the receiving end. Kathryn would feel sorry for him if he didn't bring it on himself.

"Tom why don't I let you get some practise in and then I'll give you a rematch, it would only be fair"

Tom was about to reply when the entire bridge shook violently almost knocking Kathryn out of her chair.

"Warp engines are offline" Tom said from his console as the ship dropped out of warp.

"Captain I'm detecting two alien vessels…we're being hailed"

"Red Alert, on screen"

An alien man appeared on the screen, his skin was a dark blue and he had short, black hair. The worst part was his eyes, in the middle of the dark skin, they were blood red. The mere sight of him forced Kathryn to repress a shiver.

"I am Bassan of the Kanesh, you are entering our space, turn around and leave immediately or you will be destroyed"

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Feder"

"Who you are and what you want means nothing to us, you will leave immediately"

The image from the screen disappeared and Kathryn could feel the tension on the bridge rise. They all knew she did not like to be cut off when she was speaking.

"Captain they're charging weapons"

"Evasive manoeuvres, Tuvok target their weapons and fire"

TBC

Authors Note: So what did you think? Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome and reviews always inspire me to write faster.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 2

The bridge shook again as Voyager took yet another hit from the enemy ships. They couldn't take much more of this, their weapons were proving next to useless and their shields weren't fairing any better. The Kanesh ships didn't seem t be having that problem though, they were tearing Voyager apart.

"B'Elanna I need those warp engines back online now!"

"I need at least another couple of minutes"

"We don't have another couple of minutes" Kathryn shouted as Voyager was hit by several more blast causing explosions all over the bridge.

"Captain" came Harry's voice "Four more ships have just dropped out of warp"

Kathryn felt a surge of fear run through her body though she managed not to show it. They couldn't handle the two ships they had, there was no way they were going to be able to survive another four. She was about to open her mouth to tell B'Elanna she was out of time when Tuvok's voice stopped her.

"They do not appear to be Kanesh" Tuvok said and then after a moments pause "They are firing on the Kanesh ships"

It took less than a minute for the battle to be over, the two Kanesh ships took a pummelling from the four new comers before they escaped.

"We are being hailed"

"On Screen" Kathryn said as she stood up, she felt Chakotay move to stand slightly behind her, lending her his strength. She watched as the view screen changed to the image of an alien male. This man however was not nearly as sinister looking as the last one, in fact he looked almost human apart from the slight cranial ridges that appeared on his forehead.

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation star ship Voyager"

"I am Captain Nal of the Tanasi, we have a space station six light years from here. We can escort you there so that you can make repairs"

"That would be most appreciated" Kathryn said aware that her ship and taken a beating but still very wary of the aliens intentions.

The alien seemed to sense her wariness "The Kanesh are a brutal enemy, the Tanasi have been at war with them for many years now. We have no quarrel with your people Captain and have no intention to harm you"

"Thank you" Kathryn replied felling some her suspicion allayed.

"My people tell me your warp engine is offline do you require assistance repairing it"

"No my engineers we have it fixed shortly"

"Until then we will travel at impulse, please inform us when you are ready to go to warp" The man told them before disappearing from the view screen.

"Maintain yellow alert. Bridge to Engineering"

"Torres here"

"B'Elanna, how long until we have warp?"

"Those last few hits did a lot of damage but I think I can give you warp in about ten minutes Captain"

"Keep working on it"

Kathryn glanced at Chakotay as they both sat back down in their command chairs and braced themselves for what was to come next.

"Damage report"

Kathryn's fears about the Tanasi seemed to be unsubstantiated. They had been nothing put polite and helpful, they had provided Voyager with everything they would need to make repairs. Kathryn however remained wary of them, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. They had lost two crew members in the attack and the ship had taken a worse beating than they had originally thought.

The space station was huge and provided an array of things for her crew to do to entertain themselves. As such may members of the crew who weren't involved in repair efforts were now aboard the space station, including Chakotay. Not that she could blame him, they had been there for almost a day now and Chakotay had spent almost the entire time helping aboard Voyager. He hadn't even planned to go until Tom had dragged him to the stations promenade.

The Tanasi had volunteered to brief Voyagers senior staff on the Kanesh weapons, technology and tactics. Captain Nal was due to arrive on Voyager in two hours to brief them personally. All the senior staff had orders to be back on Voyager and in the briefing room five minutes before that time.

B'Elanna arrived back in engineering to find it still buzzing with activity. She had gone with Harry on to the space station a few hours ago after Harry had spent an hour telling her that she needed to take a break. He had been right of course which is why she had relented and gone with him. A lot of the repairs had already been done before she had left and even more of them had been completed in her absence.

The Tanasi were certainly proving themselves to be a very helpful race, without their help it would probably have taken days to repair all the damage the Kanesh had caused. She had an hour left before the briefing so she decided to get some more repairs done before Tom got back and forced her to go and sleep or something.

Chakotay and Tom walked out of the space stations promenade and headed back to Voyager. Chakotay was glad Tom had dragged him off Voyager and made a mental note to get Kathryn to come here before they left.

"Good luck with that" Tom said and Chakotay looked at him in confusion.

"Getting the Captain to come here"

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"I'd say I was psychic but we both know that's not true so let's just stick with I could tell"

They continued to walk through the corridors of the space station and were ten minutes away from Voyager when there was an explosion next to them. They were both knocked to the floor and it took Tom a minute to recover his senses.

"Chakotay" Tom said coughing as he sat up and looked through the smoke to try and find his commanding officer and friend. He could hear voices shouting and getting closer but there was no answer from Chakotay.

As the smoke began to clear around them Tom could see a form wearing the black and red uniform of a commanding Starfleet officer on the floor a few feet from him. He moved over to the form and turned him over so he could get a better look at him.

Chakotay was unconscious and had what looked to be a pretty bad head injury. Two Tanasi ran up to them and pulled Tom away from Chakotay as they started to work on him. Another Tanasi ran to him and started to look at the cut that he hadn't noticed he had on his own head. Tom was visibly tense and unsure of the Tanasi that had surrounded him and Chakotay. The Tanasi tending to him was a young woman who obviously sensed his apprehension.

"Relax sir, we're doctors, we'll take care of you and your friend"

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure"

One of the Tanasi doctors tending to Chakotay turned to look at the woman "We need to get them to the medical bay"

"Paris to Voyager" Tom said tapping his com badge.

"Janeway here" Her voice sounded tense, Voyager had probably detected the explosion.

"Captain there was an explosion aboard the space station" he explained just to be sure.

"We know, do you know what happened?"

"No ma'am but Chakotay and I were injured in the explosion, my injuries aren't too bad but Chakotay's unconscious and from the looks of it he has a pretty bad head wound. The Tanasi doctors are taking care of him now and they're taking us to their medical bay"

"The Doctor and I are on our way"

Tom felt the familiar sensations of a transporter and found himself standing in what was obviously the Tanasi's medical bay. Chakotay was immediately moved to a bio bed as several doctors surrounded him. Tom was ushered over to another bed by the female doctor who had been tending to him before transport. As the doctor began to treat his head wound Tom kept his eyes on Chakotay and the doctors who were treating him.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

So here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy it, please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 3

Kathryn arrived in the stations medical bay with Tuvok and the Doctor. She could see a group of Tanasi Doctors crowded around a bio bed and she could just see Chakotay between them. Tom was sitting on the edge of another bio bed close by, watching Chakotay and the Doctors intently.

"Tom" Kathryn said as she approached him, his uniform was dirty and torn in a few places from the explosion. He had several cuts and bruises but the only one that appeared at all serious was the one on his head. It had been patched up, though not as well as it would have been if he'd been on Voyager.

"They don't seem to be as medically advanced as we expected them to be" Tom told her when he noticed the direction of her gaze. The Doctor immediately pulled out is tricorder and started scanning him.

"Chakotay took a pretty nasty blow to the head but the doctors said he'll be fine" Tom said turning his attention back to Chakotay.

Kathryn followed his gaze, she could see Chakotay properly from this angle, his uniform and body were in a slightly worse shape than Tom's and his head wound was clearly visible.

"Captain Janeway" A man said as he entered the medical bay and it took her a moment to recognise him.

"Captain Nal, what happened?"

"There was an overload in the plasma conduits, I am sorry that you're men were caught in the explosion"

"What caused the overload?" Tuvok asked as he switched into investigator mode.

"We're not sure yet, our people are looking into it"

"Commander Chakotay is stable now, there's nothing more we can do for him" One of the doctors said as he joined them.

"Is it safe to transport him to Voyager?" She asked, looking over the mans shoulder to where the Doctor was now hovering over Chakotay with his tricorder.

"Yes, you can probably do more for him than we can"

"Under the circumstances" Captain Nal began "I believe we should reschedule our briefing"

"I believe so"

Kathryn moved over to Chakotay's side and gently ran a hand over his cheek before turning to look at the others. "Janeway to Voyager, five to beam directly to sickbay"

Captain Nal watched as the five members of the Voyager crew disappeared "Excuse me, Captain?"

"What is it Doctor?" Nal asked.

"There's something you need to see"

"Commander I don't think you should sit up so fast" The Doctor tried to protest as Chakotay sat up on the bio bed.

"What happened?"

"There was an overload in the corridor aboard the space station, you and Tom were both injured in the explosion" Kathryn explained.

"Is Tom alright?"

"He's fine, he's already returned to duty"

"However you commander" The doctor started "Are to get several hours rest before I'll allow you to return to duty"

"But I'm fine…"

"Commander, you suffered a severe head injury, I insist that you rest for at least the next six hours"

"But I feel fine now, I don't need…"

"Commander" The Doctor said in the same tone he used when Kathryn was being difficult, the one that said 'do as I say or I'll sedate you'.

"Fine"

The doctor sighed "I do believe the Captain is rubbing off on you" he said as he left the room.

Chakotay looked at Kathryn who had an amused smile on her face which he found contagious.

"Try not to do that again" she said as her way of telling him she'd been worried.

"I'll try"

"What am I looking at?" Captain Nal asked as he stared in confusion at the medical read outs the doctor was showing him.

"This is the analysis of a blood sample taken from Commander Chakotay"

"Does his Captain know you're analysing his blood?"

"No but we were curious so we ran both the commanders and Lieutenant Paris's"

"And?"

"And we detected minute traces of a chemical in his blood, he probably doesn't even know it's there"

"Is this going somewhere doctor?" Nal asked feeling slightly exasperated and hoping he wouldn't have to explain to Captain Janeway why the stations medical staff had run unauthorised tests on the blood of a member of her crew.

The doctor hesitated a moment before answering "Commander Chakotay could be the key to solving our problem"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 4

"The Kanesh have the ability to fire whilst travelling at warp, an ability the Tanasi unfortunately do not share, it gives them a great advantage. They prefer to attack with double the number of ships than they are facing"

Kathryn listened intently as Captain Nal briefed her senior staff on the Kanesh. From what she had heard so far the Kanesh were brutal and Voyager would have very little chance if any of making it through this area of space alive, not that she had any intention of giving up. As Captain Nal finished she dismissed her senior staff who all filed out of the room to return to their duties.

"Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, may I speak with you a moment please?"

"Of course"

"Firstly I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for what happened this morning"

"It was an accident, it can't be helped and no one was killed"

"I'm afraid I have something else to apologise for" Nal explained looking rather uncomfortable, whatever it was he had to apologise for Kathryn wasn't going to like it. "When the Tanasi doctors treated Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris they took samples of their blood to analyse, they did not have authorisation to do that"

Kathryn was a little annoyed that someone had taken samples of her officers blood and analysed without her knowing but no harm was done.

"You see as well as battling the Kanesh my people have also been battling a disease which is has been wiping out our people for decades"

Oh no, Kathryn thought, not another people suffering with a deadly illness, they had better not be anything like the Vidians.

"The doctors found traces of a chemical in the commanders system but not the Lieutenants. The traces of the chemical are so minute you probably don't even know it's there. The chemical may be able to help us, our doctors believe it may be the key to finding a cure for our people"

"Captain" Kathryn said "What is it exactly that you want from us?"

"I want to offer you a deal. As you have no doubt determined yourself it will be virtually impossible for Voyager to get through this area of space alone. It will take you at least four months to reach the other side, in that time there is no doubt that you will encounter the Kanesh a great many times. Your ship could not withstand the first attack it will not survive others either"

"Captain Nal, could you please get to the point?" Kathryn asked feeling a growing sense of unease.

"A group of Tanasi ships will escort you through this region of space in return we ask that you temporarily give the Commander to us"

"That's not going to happen"

"Please Captain Janeway, the Commander will be taken care of. He will be transported aboard a science vessel which are much faster than our military ships to a space station several light years from here. Then when we are finished he will be transported to a rendezvous point at the other side of space. When you get there he will already be there waiting for you. He will not be harmed and nothing will be done without his express permission, you have my word. I understand you will need time to discuss, I will wait on my ship"

Kathryn watched as Captain Nal was escorted out of the room before she turned to Chakotay who had a thoughtful look o his face.

"What are you thinking?"

"That we should actually consider this" he said looking up to meet her gaze "He's right, Voyager doesn't stand a chance on its own"

"I know" she said solemnly.

"There it is" the Doctor said as he pointed to the monitor "That's the chemical"

"What is it?" Chakotay asked curiously.

"I don't know"

"Do we know how it got into his system?" Kathryn asked.

"Not yet but I'm looking into it. I'd like to run tests on a few other members of the crew to see if it is present in anyone else. It may help to determine where it came from"

"Do it"

"Well since I have you here, I'd like to start with you Captain"

"Ive run the test on 25 members of the crew" The doctor explained as Kathryn and Chakotay sat in sickbay several hours later.

"What did you find?" Chakotay asked

"The chemical is present in only one other member of the crew"

"Who?"

"You Captain"

"Do we have any idea where it's come from?" Kathryn asked after a few moments.

The doctor sighed "I have run more tests on both yours and the Commanders blood samples, whilst I can't say for absolute certain the chemical appears to have been in your system for almost five years now"

"The bugs" Chakotay stated. "New Earth"

"That would be my guess"

"I think we should take the deal" Chakotay said as he sat down next to Kathryn in their quarters.

"I knew you were going to say that"

"Because you know I'm right"

"We don't know anything about these people Chakotay"

"I know but they've been nothing but helpful to us so far and I think we stand a far better chance with them than the Kanesh"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes"

"Then we'd better inform the senior staff"

"Also, I don't think that we should inform the Tanasi that the chemical is in your system too and we should probably keep it among the senior officers"

"I agree"

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 5

"You have got to be kidding" B'Elanna said as the senior staff sat in the briefing room and Kathryn and Chakotay explained their situation.

"I'm afraid we're not"

"We don't know anything about these aliens or what they want with Chakotay"

"We don't really have many options B'Elanna" Chakotay said "The Tanasi are right, we can't get through this region of space without their help and if this help prevent them from being wiped out on two fronts then no harm done"

"We don't know anything about this war, for all we know the Tanasi are actually the bad guys"

"I must point out that to offer our assistance to one side in this war is against the prime directive" Tuvok added.

"I know but if we don't do this Voyager won't make to the other side if this space, even if we turned around to go back it would take us days to get out of this region again and there's no doubt the Kanesh will find us again, especially now they know we're here. The decision has already been made"

Chakotay finished packing as he put a picture of himself and Kathryn in to his bag. He looked at Kathryn who was sat down behind him, he was worried about her, she hadn't said a word since the briefing. Her captains mask was in place though and if he didn't know her as well as he did he wouldn't be able to see the emotions she was feeling.

"I'll be fine, the Tanasi have taken good care of us so far, we have no reason to believe they won't take care of me"

"I know" she said quietly as she stood up.

"I'll be back before you know it, I love you"

"I love you" Kathryn said as Chakotay leant down to kiss her, she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close and hoping that somehow she could just stay in that moment.

The entire senior staff were waiting in the transporter room when Kathryn and Chakotay walked in. Chakotay left Kathryn's side as he said his goodbyes to them all.

B'Elanna was last and she got a little teary eyed "You be careful, I mean it. If you come back and one hair on your heads is in the wrong place I'll kill them and kick your ass"

"I'll be careful if you will" Chakotay said as he hugged her "Take care of Kathryn for me" he whispered quietly to her.

"You can count on it" B'Elanna whispered back before she pulled away and moved into Toms arms.

Chakotay moved back over to Kathryn and hugged her tightly before kissing her on the cheek lightly "I love you, I'll see you soon"

Kathryn nodded her head and watched as Chakotay moved to stand on the transporter pad with Captain Nal who had been waiting patiently through out Chakotay's goodbyes.

"You have my promise he will be safe, ready for transport" Captain Nal said into his communication device on his wrist. Chakotay and Captain Nal disappeared and everyone but Kathryn and B'Elanna left the room.

"He'll be fine, he knows what he's doing"

Chakotay stood in the transport room of the science vessel 'Timet' with Captain Nal.

"Greetings Commander Chakotay, I am Captain Javess"

"Nice to meet you"

"Don't worry commander we're going to take very good care of you"

"I'm sure you will"

"Well" said Captain Nal "Now that you're safely aboard I have to return to my ship. You will be going immediately to the science station at the other side of this region of space, it's very close to the rendezvous point. My ship will be staying with Voyager along with three others, we'll ensure they get safely across"

"Thank you" Chakotay said and he watched as Captain Nal walked back on to the transport pad and disappeared.

"If you'd like to come this way Commander I'll show you to your quarters" Javess said gesturing toward the door and Chakotay followed him out.

"It will take us roughly seven weeks to reach the science station during that time we would like to run a few tests, with your permission"

"Which you have"

"If you at any time feel uncomfortable with a test do not hesitate to say so, we will stop immediately"

"That's good to know"

"Have you been told that you will not be able to contact Voyager during the next four months as the Kanesh can track the transmissions?"

"I have"

"These are your quarters I hope you find them comfortable, I must return to the bridge"

Javess walked away and Chakotay entered his new quarters, it was smaller than the one he shared with Kathryn aboard Voyager but it was actually nice. He put his bag down on the bed and took out the picture of himself and Kathryn, placing it on the table beside his bed.

"I miss you already"

Kathryn had been sitting in her quarters for the past two hours, she was missing Chakotay more than she had expected to. She knew she was going to miss him incredibly but it felt like a piece of her was missing.

"Come" Kathryn said as she heard the door chime and B'Elanna walked in.

"Captain, Tom, Harry and I were on our way to the holodeck we'd like you to join us"

"Maybe another time"

"Actually I think you should come now" B'Elanna said and Kathryn looked up in shock "You see I promised Chakotay that I would look after you and as much as you're going to tell me you're fine and you don't need looking after, I'm going to do it anyway. So I'm not going anywhere until you agree to come to the holodeck even if I have to stand here for the next four months"

Kathryn was speechless, she was actually speechless and judging by the look on B'Elanna's face she was very proud of her little speech.

"What do you say Captain, are you going to make this easy on both of us"

"Alright I'll come"

B'Elanna had to hold back a sigh of relief as her captain stood up and walked out of the door with her. She had half expected to get thrown in the brig but she had made a promise to Chakotay even if she had intended to do it before he had asked. She knew the only way she was going to get through to the Captain was if she was a little insubordinate, thankfully it had worked.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 6

Chakotay had been gone for several days now and the whole crew were feeling his absence. His powerful yet quiet presence was missing not just from the bridge but the entire ship. Kathryn was being hit particularly hard by it though, since their relationship had started she had never been separate from him for this long.

"Captain Nal is hailing us" Harry's voice interrupted her musings pulling Kathryn back to reality.

"On screen"

"Captain Janeway" Nal said as he appeared on the screen in front of her "Request permission to come aboard, there is something I must discuss with you and your crew in person"

For a moment Kathryn feared that something had happened to Chakotay but somehow she knew that wasn't the case.

"Permission granted"

"We have received information that one of our people who was captured by the Kanesh is being transported to a Kanesh prison colony. The prisoner is General Tomos, one of our military leaders and he has a lot of knowledge that we cannot allow the Kanesh to learn. The ship transporting him will be passing near here tomorrow and we have been ordered to rescue him"

"Captain I warned you when we agreed to this that we would not assist in your war"

"We're not asking you to but it will take all the ships in this group to make the rescue successful. This means that we will have to leave you for a short time but we have run long range scans and we do not detect the presence of any Kanesh ships but the prison transport and its escorts"

"The terms of our agreement state that Voyager must be protected at all times" Kathryn argued, if they all got themselves blown up Voyager would be on her own.

"I am aware of that but the rescue of this prisoner is pivotal to us, the Kanesh would gain a greater advantage than they already have in this war if they learn what Tomos knows"

Kathryn was about to continue arguing when the look determined look on Nal's face told her it was pointless. There was no way she could stop them from leaving. "Very well"

Nal nodded and sighed "I have also been ordered to ask you to join the fight, we stand a much better chance with you and we could protect you with much more ease"

"I'm sorry Captain but we cannot get involved in your war"

"Had to ask" Nal said with a brief smile "I must return to my ship now, we will be leaving in twelve hours"

Kathryn watched as Nal walked out of the room before turning to the rest of her senior staff who had been unusually quiet throughout "Opinions?"

"They're up to something" Tom said in his typical blunt way.

"I agree with Mr Paris, they do seem to have an ulterior motive" Tuvok agreed.

"Question is, what is it?" B'Elanna asked.

Chakotay stared out of the small window in his quarters as the stars went by. He had been on this ship for several days and was missing Voyager. He was missing his quarters, his comfy chair on the bridge, the worrying meals Neelix cooked, the stupid comments from Tom and a million other little things. Most of all though he was missing Kathryn, he missed her face and her voice and the way she could brighten up his whole day just by walking into the room.

The science crew and doctors aboard the science Vessel had been poking, prodding and scanning him since his arrival. They had all been perfectly nice to him and hadn't done anything he had been uncomfortable with. He still had another six weeks before he reached the science station and then another two and a half months before he would rendezvous with Voyager.

Kathryn watched as three of their four escort ships appeared on the viewscreen all having taken heavy damage and the fourth nowhere to be seen.

"Hail Captain Nal" Kathryn ordered as she stood up.

"Captain Janeway" Nal shouted over the sound of something exploding behind him "It is good to see you came to no harm during our absence"

"Can't say the same for you"

"They put up a fight Captain, request medical aid?"

"What do you need?"

"Many of our people were injured during the fight and our doctors cannot treat them all at once, I request permission to send some of the injured to your sickbay"

"Permission granted" Kathryn said before the view screen cut off. She wasn't going to get anymore involved in this war than she already had but she also wasn't about to let the people aboard those ships die.

"With Mr Paris' help I've managed to treat most of the Tanasi that were beamed here and have sent them back to their ships" the doctor explained several hours later in sickbay "However these three were more seriously wounded than the other and I won't be able to send them back to their ships for at least a day"

"You said there was something I needed to see" Kathryn stated.

"Not see Captain, hear"

"This man regained consciousness about twenty minutes ago and he started talking about what had happened on their mission. It turns out it was not a rescue mission at all, they were testing out a new weapon"

"What is the nature of this weapon?" Tuvok asked

"Biological, he didn't say anymore"

"Why did he tell you this?" Kathryn asked and noted Tom looking at his shoes.

"He thought Mr Paris was Captain Nal"

"And I sought of played along, we wanted to know what they were up to" Tom defended and Kathryn nodded her head, now they did know.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 7

Chakotay had been aboard the science station for two weeks now, that meant he had been away from Voyager and Kathryn for over two months. The crew of the science vessel which had transported him here were still aboard the science station and would transport him to the rendezvous point with Voyager in two months. Two months, he wasn't sure he could wait that much longer. He had seen or spoken to any of his friends since he had left Voyager. He had been told a few weeks ago that Voyager was fine and still travelling toward the rendezvous point. Other than that he had heard nothing in two months.

He looked at the picture of Kathryn which was currently sitting on the table next to his bed. He missed her so much that sometimes it felt like he couldn't breath, he couldn't wait for this whole nightmare to be over.

She couldn't wait for this whole nightmare to be over. Two months now they had been travelling with the Tanasi and it was proving to be one big headache. It had been a few weeks since she had found out that the Tanasi rescue mission had actually been a cover for them to test their new biological weapon.

She and Tuvok decide to keep it between themselves and the senior staff that they knew the truth. She had questioned Captain Nal about the rescue inquiring about the prisoner they had been supposed to rescue and trying to get details of the mission out of him. So far he had barely missed a step, he had told her that the prisoner had been killed during the fire fight and had been able to give a particularly detailed analysis of the mission. He had stumbled only a few times and created very few inconsistencies in his stories, but it was enough for Kathryn to know he was lying.

Two months since this had started, two months since she had last seen or spoken to Chakotay and another two months before she would see him again. Other than a brief 'he's fine' a few weeks ago, she had heard nothing else. She was missing him, she was missing the quiet support and strength his presence gave her. She was missing the advice and the reassurance he would have given her now but most of all she was missing him.

"Bridge to Captain Janeway" She heard Tuvok's voice say.

"Janeway here"

"Captain Nal is requesting a meeting with you immediately"

"Have him beam aboard and escorted to the briefing room"

Kathryn stood in the briefing room with Tuvok and Captain Nal who appeared to be quite agitated, this wasn't going to be good.

"Captain Janeway I'm sorry" Nal apologised immediately before he had even said what he'd done wrong.

"What is it Captain?"

"I have spoken to the Tanasi military command and they have informed me the Kanesh have learnt of our arrangement and are assembling a fleet to destroy Voyager and your escort"

If it was at all possible Kathryn's headache actually got worse in that moment as Tuvok spoke "How did they learn this information?"

"We are at war Commander Tuvok, we have spies and other methods of surveillance reaching far into the Kanesh" Nal said before turning back to Kathryn "The fleet will be ready and will intercept us in one week. One of our military vessels are close enough to help us. Our chances of survival are minimal but they would increase if you added your own fire power to ours"

Kathryn sat in silence for a few moments, her face giving away none of the conflict and raging emotions she felt inside her.

"I know you said you would not get involved in our war but it s not only our survival at stake here, it is yours. That Kanesh have made you a target, until you are safely beyond this region of space this is as much your war as it is ours. I will leave you to make your decision" Captain Nal finished before he turned and walked out of the room to join his escorts.

"What do you think?" Kathryn asked after Captain Nal had left.

"It would seem we have been left with little choice but to fight in this war"

"So it would seem" Kathryn said and then paused to think "We'll have to fight, we'll only do what we have to do to defend ourselves and our escort. Inform the crew, dismissed"

Tuvok nodded and left the room and Kathryn turned to look out of her window at the stars that were shooting past.

"What would you tell me to do?" The question was aimed at Chakotay but disappeared among the stars.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 8

"Shields down to forty five percent" Tuvok stated calmly from his position at tactical. They had been fighting with the Kanesh fleet for the last twenty minutes and so far were only just holding their own. One of their escort ships had been destroyed and the others were taking heavy damage. The Kanesh had shown up with eight ships just as expected, the Tanasi had said the Kanesh preferred to attack with twice the number of ships at those they had to fight. Voyager had manage to destroy one of the ships and their escorts had destroyed another, leaving them with six vessels to fight.

The ship lurched violently as Voyager took another hit at the same time another Kanesh ship was destroyed on their viewscreen.

The ship lurched once again and Kathryn heard Tuvok say that shields were down before reporting the various hull breaches. Kathryn only had time to order the breaches sealed before she disappeared from the bridge.

"That's it!" the doctor yelled triumphantly.

"It worked?" Chakotay asked and smiled at the grin on the doctors face.

"It worked in the simulation, we just have to see if it works in reality now but I think we just found the cure"

"That's great" Chakotay said but his smile slowly disappeared off his face as he got feeling that something was wrong.

"Commander" Captain Javess said as he walked into the medical bay with an urgent look on his face. "Doctor may we have a moment?"

The doctor nodded his head and quickly left the room "Commander I have just received word from Tanasi Military Command. The Kanesh learnt of your agreement with us and sent a fleet to destroy and Voyager and her escort. Voyager was not destroyed and the majority of her escort has also survived. After a lengthy fire fight the Kanesh simply left"

"Why would they do that?" Chakotay asked feeling the bad feeling increase about a thousand times as Javess just stared apologetically at him.

"Kathryn" Chakotay said as he closed his eyes in an attempt to control the emotions he was feeling. "What happened?"

"They took her, transported her off Voyager when her shields were down and then left"

Kathryn woke to find herself laid on the floor in a small empty room. She wasn't sure how she had got here, the last thing she remembered was being on Voyager ordering the hull breaches sealed. Then a thought struck her, what had happened to Voyager? Had she survived the battle and were her crew okay?

The door opened and two alien men walked in and Kathryn recognised them immediately as Kanesh.

"I am Bassan of the Kanesh" One of the men said.

"Oh I remember you" Kathryn said as she remembered him as being the commander of the ship that had attacked them when they had first entered this area of space.

"Silence" Bassan said as he slapped Kathryn so hard across the face she fell to the ground. "You will not speak unless you are spoken to"

Kathryn glared at him as she stood up but the alien seemed unfazed by it "This is Steon, he is my second in command, he will ask you a few question, I suggest you answer them"

Bassan turned and walked out of the room and Steon looked at her with a menacing look in his red eyes.

"Now you will tell me about Voyagers weaponry"

"I will tell you nothing"

"We shall see" Steon said as he moved toward the door and knocked on it. Two other Kanesh males walked into the room and moved to stand on either side of her. "Voyagers weapons?"

At Kathryn's silence Steon nodded to one of the men stood by her side. The man hit Kathryn in the stomach and she had to choke back the cry of pain that made it into her throat.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 9

"We believe we know where she is" Captain Javess told Chakotay, it had been two days since he had found out that Kathryn had been kidnapped by the Kanesh. He had spent that time demanding to be taken back to Voyager and ordering them to do something to get her back. He had been told that they could not take him back to Voyager and they were doing what they could to locate Kathryn.

"Has Voyager been informed?"

"Yes but there is nothing they can do, the Kanesh ship they are on is too fast for the damaged ships to pursue, including Voyager. The ship your Captain is being held on is actually heading in this direction"

"Then we need to go after her"

"I'm afraid we can't do that yet"

"What the hell do you mean we can't do that yet?!"

"We're only a science vessel we cannot take on a whole fleet of Kanesh ships. Several of our military vessels are on their way here, however the fleet is still several weeks away even for our faster science vessels"

"So what, we just sit here and do nothing for a couple of weeks?!"

"No commander, the military vessels will all arrive within the next few days and then we will set a course to meet them half way"

Chakotay was about to continue arguing when the rational part of his mind finally kicked back in and stopped him. Javess was right, if they tried to go after her now they would only get themselves killed and then there would be no one left to save her. He would just have to wait a few day for the military vessels to arrive and then he could go after her.

"I know this must be hard for you but this really is the only way" Javess said as he walked out of the room leaving Chakotay alone with his thoughts. Everyone had been so worried about his safety with him leaving alone with a bunch of aliens they knew nothing about. It had turned out that he couldn't be any safer and Kathryn was the one in trouble. He just hoped she was okay, he had learnt a lot bout the Kanesh during his time with the Tanasi. He knew about how they tortured their prisoners for information and how they were given only enough food and water to stay alive and sometimes not even that. He just hoped that when he finally got to her she would still be okay.

Kathryn cried out in pin as the aliens boot once again connected with her ribcage. She had been held aboard the Kanesh ship for days now. They had tortured for information on Voyager and her systems, she hadn't told them anything. In the days she had been here she had only been given food three times and water five times.

"Enough" Steon said as the man moved to kick her again.

"You can make this stop Captain, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know"

Despite her exhaustion Kathryn managed to glare at him and had to hold back a triumphant smile as he flinched slightly.

"Very well if you will not tell us bout Voyager there is something else you can tell us about"

"What's that?" Kathryn asked.

"Where did the Tanasi get their knew weapon from?"

Kathryn sighed mentally, she knew that damn thing was going to cause her more trouble. She looked at Steon, how did he expect her to know where the Tanasi were getting their weapons from? Kathryn froze as she realised exactly why he expected her to know.

"We did not give them any technology least of all weapons" Kathryn stated.

"It can not be a coincidence that the Tanasi gain this new weapon when they enter an agreement with you"

"It is against our laws to give technology to other races or to get involved in their wars. We told them that from the beginning, that we would not help them in this war"

"You fired on our ships, that is an act of war"

"You were going to destroy us!"

"And your second in command is with them now, helping them to develop a cure to their illness which would give them a greater advantage in this war"

"They say you are the ones with the advantage" Kathryn said.

A small smile appeared on Steon's lips and Kathryn once again had to suppress a shiver "Remember Captain, in a war there is always two sides to the story"

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"The Tanasi are not as innocent as they claim to be, though I believe you already suspect as much"

"At least they didn't attack us without provocation and they haven't kidnapped and tortured any of my people"

"Are you so sure about that, how many times have you spoken to your second in command since he left with the Tanasi. Has he told you himself that he was okay, that he is being treat well" when he received no reply from Kathryn he continued "I didn't think so, all you have is the word of an alien race, an alien race you are quickly discovering cannot be trusted"

Kathryn's stomach turned at the thought that Chakotay was not as okay as she had been led to believe. Had he been tortured for the last two months without her having any idea anything was wrong.

"Now Captain back to my questions" Steon said with a smug smile on his face, pleased at the doubts he had planted in her head.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 10

It had been over a week since Voyager had engaged the Kanesh fleet and they were still making repairs. Their escort ships and come out of the battle even worse. They were now a day away from a Tanasi space station where the three ships could be repaired. There had been much debate among the crew when they had decided they couldn't go after the Captain. After the battle Voyager hadn't even been capable of warp for several days and even now they couldn't go any faster than warp four. They had no weapons and several decks were so badly damaged they had been completely evacuated. Shields were back online but one hit and they would be gone again. There was no way Voyager or her escorts could save the Captain even if they could go after her.

They had been informed that the Tanasi had located the ship she was being held on and that a fleet of Tanasi military vessels was preparing to intercept them along with Commander Chakotay.

"How long are these repairs going to take?" Tom asked, eager to go after the Captain.

"If the people at this station work as efficiently as the last one, I estimate a few days" B'Elanna answered.

Kathryn hit the deck plating once again as the mans fist collided with her face. She had no idea how long she had been here anymore, sometimes it felt like months but the part of her mind that was still rational told her it had only been weeks, three weeks at most.

She could hear Steon asking her a question but she had no idea what the question was. His voice had become a muffled sound days ago, she no longer knew exactly what he was asking her. In a way she found it a comfort, it made it almost impossible for her to tell him anything.

One of the men dragged her too her feet once again as Steon shouted at her, she still had no idea what he was saying. It was probably another question but from the tone of his voice she knew he was getting annoyed with her.

He shouted again, he was getting angrier but she still had no idea what he was saying. Suddenly he hit her, his fist connected with her face harder than anything the other two men had been able to do to her. She could feel herself falling, her head crashed into the deck plating and she was plunged into darkness.

Chakotay stood on the bridge of the military ship that had transported him here. The Commander of the ship Captain Dalan had turned out to be a good guy. He had gathered as many military vessels as he could in a few short days and had wasted no time in leading the fleet straight for the Kanesh fleet. He had even been extremely tolerant of Chakotay when he was feeling a little more impatient than usual. It had been three weeks since he had found out Kathryn had been taken and he would be relieved when this was all over and she was safe again.

They were now approaching the Kanesh fleet, in few moments they would drop out of warp and engage them. Chakotay had been assigned to the away team that would board the Kanesh ship to rescue Kathryn as soon as they discovered which one she was on. He would be beamed to a part of the ship where the shields were weak enough to allow transport and they would have to find Kathryn from there. This was why the man standing next to him, Krav, was going with them. He knew Kanesh ships better than he knew his own Tanasi ships and he would no where to go to find Kathryn.

The ship dropped out of warp and Chakotay could see the Kanesh fleet on the view screen.

"Weapons ready, shields to full, away to the transporter room" Captain Dalan ordered and Chakotay looked to the fleet on the view screen one last time before he left.

"Hold on Kathryn, I'm coming for you"

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 11

Chakotay materialised in a corridor in a Kanesh ship, Krav immediately started walking down the corridor and the rest of the team were quick to follow him. Chakotay was carrying the same Tanasi weapon the others were carrying which was basically a bigger version of the Starfleet phaser.

Their transport had not been detected so they were able to make through several corridors before they ran into two Kanesh. The five other members of the boarding party were quick to fire on the two surprised Kanesh and they went down easily. It was five minutes and several more Kanesh deaths later that Krav turned to them. "These is the prisoner holding cells" There were at least twenty doors on either side of the corridor and no way to know which was Kathryn's.

"Groups of two and stay alert" Krav said whilst indicating that he would be partnered with Chakotay. The other four men partnered up and walked down to the other end of the corridor. They had just moved around a corner when Chakotay and Krav heard a man's voice.

"Wake her up" it said angrily. They moved toward the door the voice had come from and quickly opened it.

"Let me do it" One man said as he grabbed the unconscious Kathryn's arm to pull her off the floor.

"Let go of her" Chakotay said angrily as he pointed the weapon at the man. The other two men made a move toward Chakotay but barely managed to take a single step before Krav had killed them both.

"Steon" Krav stated.

"You know him?" Chakotay asked,

"I know of him, he's one nasty piece of work."

"I see my reputation precedes me" Steon said smugly from where he still had hold of Kathryn's arm.

"Let go of her" Chakotay told him again.

Steon smirked maliciously at him before once again moving to pull Kathryn off the floor. Chakotay and Krav both shot him at the same time and he fell to the ground dead.

Chakotay quickly ran over to Kathryn's side and took her unconscious form into his arms. She was covered in cuts and bruises, some of them looked really serious, especially the ones on her head. He skin was pale and clammy and Chakotay could tell she had lost a lot of weight.

Confusion was all Kathryn knew as she began to wake up. Her head was hurting, in fact her entire body was hurting. Her memories came flooding back to her and it was now she registered the strong arms around her and the voice calling her back to consciousness. She recognised them both immediately and relaxed as she opened her eyes. If it wasn't for the person holding her at that moment she may have panicked. She couldn't see, everything was just a complete blur. All she could make out was blurry out lines, how hard had she hit her head.

"Chakotay" she finally managed to choke out of her dry throat.

"That's right it's me, you're safe now" she heard Chakotay say and she knew it was true, if he was here then she was safe. That thought in mind she allowed the darkness to claim her once again

Chakotay felt the relief run through him when Kathryn woke up even if she did lose consciousness again a moment later. He picked her up in his arms and couldn't believe how light she was, she literally weighed next to nothing. Krav and Chakotay made their way out of the room where the rest of their boarding party were waiting for them.

They had barely made it down the corridor though before they were under fire, apparently their presence had now been detected. Chakotay was powerless to help with Kathryn in his arms so he simply stayed out of the way and let the others deal with the Kanesh.

It was several minutes later when they were moving again and they were back at the transport site in no time.

"Krav to Dalan, six to beam back"

The five members of the boarding team plus Kathryn disappeared from the Kanesh ship.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Voyager or any of its characters.

Chapter 12

"She took quite a beating, her injuries were severe especially her head injury. She's also suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and exhaustion" The Tanasi doctor told Chakotay.

"But she'll recover"

"She will, she should also wake up any time" The doctor finished before leaving the room. Chakotay sat in the chair next to Kathryn's bed and held her hand silently as he waited for her to wake up.

It was only a few minutes later when he heard a small moan come for the bed "Kathryn?"

"Oh my head hurts" Kathryn said as she finally opened her eyes.

"I imagine a lot more than your head hurts right now" Chakotay replied with a small smile.

"True but on the bright side I can actually see now"

"I'm sorry it took us so long to come for you"

"It's not your fault, it's no ones fault but the Kanesh's and the Tanasi's if you want to get technical about it" Kathryn said before a concerned expression took over her face "What happened to Voyager?"

"Voyager's fine, she went to a repair station and is now back on course for the rendezvous point. Apparently we didn't lose anybody, there were some serious injuries but all our crew are alive and well"

"That's good, where are we?"

"On a Tanasi military transport on our way back to the science station I've been staying on"

"Are you okay, they haven't done anything to hurt you?" Kathryn asked suddenly needing the reassurance.

"They've been very good to me, I missed you though"

Kathryn smiled for the first time since Chakotay had found her "I missed you too, the whole crew did, it wasn't the same without you"

"Well it's good to know I'm wanted"

"Like you ever doubted it" Kathryn teased with a huge grin on her face.

"True, they love me on that ship"

"Yeah we do, some more than others, I do love you Chakotay"

"I do love you too Kathryn" Chakotay said before leaning down to gently kiss her lips.

As much as Kathryn had enjoyed the time she and Chakotay had spent on the science station together, she was glad to be back on Voyager and she knew Chakotay was too. The crew had welcomed them back excitedly and the ship showed no signs of the battle it had been in.

Captains Nal, Javess and Dalan stood in the transporter room with herself and Chakotay. These three men had been vital in getting them all safely across this region of space. Despite the fact that Captain Nal had lied to her about the rescue mission they had kept their part of the deal. Voyager had also been able to hold up her end, the work Chakotay had done with the doctors aboard the science station had led to a cure for the disease that was killing the Tanasi. Kathryn knew they had given the Tanasi an advantage in this war but frankly she didn't care. She knew they weren't as innocent as they seemed but the Kanesh were much worse. They had beaten and tortured her for weeks and the Tanasi had pulled out all the stops to rescue her.

"It has been an honour" Captain Nal said to Kathryn as Chakotay said his goodbyes to Javess and Dalan. She had seen the friendship that Chakotay had developed with the two men.

"Good luck on your journey home" Javess said before Kathryn gave the order to energise.

"So" Chakotay said turning to Kathryn "Feels good to be home"

"Yes it does, now since the Doctor has already ordered me off duty for three days how about we go and sleep through them"

"Sounds like a plan"

Kathryn and Chakotay walked out of the transporter room hand in hand and walked through the corridors toward their quarters. It really did feel good to be home again and to have them both there.

THE END


End file.
